Almost
by PotterheadFangirl14
Summary: What happened to change Draco Malfoy so much? He wasn't able to kill Dumbledore, he felt like he didn't want to serve the Dark Lord, he pretended not to recognise Harry, Ron and Hermione at the Malfoy Manor... What changed him completely? NOT a Dramione! Well, not exactly.
1. Prologue: The Mudblood

**Prologue: The Mudblood**

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Hermione ran from the cheers of the Gryffindor common room, hot tears soaking her face. How dare he snog Lavender Brown right in front of her? She hated him. She entered the Potions dungeons, as she knew they would be empty, and cried, only to find out she wasn't alone like she had expected.

"Granger?" Hermione found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy, who was eyeing her tears as though they were the most terrifying sight he'd ever seen. "Malfoy?" she looked at him and wiped her tears quickly, as though trying to hide them. Her tears bothered him, he had an urge to wipe them away. _Don't be an idiot, Draco. When have you ever had a conversation to her in which you didn't call her a Mudblood? You can't let her being upset bother you... There are far more important things to worry about.._Somehow, he found himself place his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, completely against his will. The Vanishing Cabinet vanished from his thoughts, and in that moment he knew all that mattered.

Hermione Granger was crying, and he had to know why.

Hermione looked at him, completely confused. He had never, ever, been nice to her before. What was he doing? Was he trying to comfort her? She looked up at him, embarrassed that she was crying in front of him.

"Herm-" _I have never even called her that before!_ Draco marveled in his head. _What am I doing?_ "Hermione... Are you alright?" _What a stupid question! Of course she isn't alright! She's crying!_

'Does he actually care? What is this?' she mused as his troubled grey eyes stared into hers. "I'm fine." she lied, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. Sobbing like that doesn't seem fine.", he said awkwardly after a few moments passed in silence. Hermione glared at him. "What do you care, Draco? Besides, even if you do, it's none of your business." Hermione began to walk away. Draco knew she was right; it wasn't any of his business... Then why did he find himself wanting to stop her, to hold her hand and pull her back? Why was he talking to such a filthy Muggle-born? Why did he find himself caring for her tears? Why, when his family was in such grave danger?

Hermione stopped in her tracks as she realised where she was headed off to. She realised how everyone in the girls' dormitory would be talking about the now-famous Ron and Lavender post-Quidditch victory kiss. How the girls would be gossiping avidly and discussing every little detail. Worse, Lavender herself may have found time to take her tongue out of Ronald's mouth and it would be gabbling about the experience while the rest of the Gryffindor girls would sigh dreamily. No, she had to stay here. She wished Harry were here instead of this new, insufferable Draco... Her best friend would understand her tears, he wouldn't bother her with incessant, unwanted questions, he would simply know why and comfort her. Or Ginny, the only person she confided her secrets to. Ginny would've been even better... Then it occurred to her that they both were on the Quidditch team too, and they would still be celebrating in the common room.

The only person who was as miserable as her was... The young man sitting on the floor with his head between his knees, a position Muggles would often sit in after they had consumed too much alcohol and declared themselves 'hungover'.

A strange curiosity immersed Hermione now. She knew this feeling; Draco's inner turmoil was a challenge to figure out: like a charm she couldn't understand how to perform, or a particularly hard riddle. She immediately forgot all about Ron and knelt beside him, faintly remembering all Harry had said about Draco being up to something, and neither her nor Ron believing him... About how he'd disappear off the Marauder's Map and him being a Death Eater. Now was her chance to figure it all out.

"Draco...", she murmured softly and rubbed his arm as she slid up close to him. "What is it?"

He looked up, and to Hermione's surprise, his eyes were rimmed red. He had been sobbing. All of Draco's will wanted to get away from the disgusting touch of the Mudblood, but he found himself unable to do so. He crumpled under her touch and tears escaped from his eyes freely.

"Oh, Draco...", Hermione murmured again, hoping she looked compassionate, rather than starving for knowledge, and rubbed his arm again. His wrist was pearly white underneath the emerald robe of Slytherin house. _Draco Malfoy, crying? Calling me by my name? _She grudgingly admitted to herself how much she liked the sound of it in his voice. _Or was it just the shock from not being sneered at the moment he laid eyes on me? What is happening? The one who would be my friend and always stand up for me started snogging random girls to make me jealous and the one who taunted me and sweared at me cared for my tears and now lay so close to me that I could hear his heartbeat?_

Soon, she rested her head on his shoulder and a teardrop of his landed on her cheek, which he touched to wipe the tear away with his hand. He let his hand stay there, and before they knew it, they were both leaning in, their nose touching, their lips about to meet, when both of them realised what they were doing. Hermione instantly sat up straight, and began rubbing Draco's arm like before. He let it stay loose, away from his body, making sure she wouldn't lean on him again, and now the cloth of his robe and his shirt's sleeve rolled freely up and down his arm.

It felt good, it felt warm and comforting, Hermione's touch. He felt his tension lessen a little, he felt slightly lighter, he began to see hope. He would tell his mother to somehow break his father out of Azkaban, and they would go into hiding... He could act as though he knew nothing about it, he could pretend to still be on the mission... then Snape could finish the task... he could leave this life, maybe even-

"OH- OH MY-!" Hermione screamed. She looked catatonic- her was face frozen, her eyes were widened. Draco followed her gaze and saw what caused her to scream.

The Dark Mark etched across his inner arm.

Hermione got to her feet immediately and fell almost as quickly as she got up. She was shaking her head continuously and her body shivered.

"It's true... You're... I can't believe I almost..."

Hermione was shaking her head fervently now as she got up, her eyes blinking back tears.

"Hermione, please... Wait- no, come back!"

But it was too late, she ran from the dungeons, hot tears soaking her face, going back the way she came.

**Everyone, this is my first attempt at writing fan-fiction so I have absolutely no idea how I've done. Help me out? :)**

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**Thank you for the lovely reviews! I promise I won't keep you waiting long for the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 1: At a Distance

**Chapter 1: At a Distance**

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Draco Malfoy paced up and down the seventh floor corridor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _I need the place where everything is hidden…_ he thought earnestly. Pansy Parkinson appeared around the corner. "Oh, Draco! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere, sweetie." Draco sighed. "I'll see you later," he replied curtly. "But —"  
"Later, Pansy."  
"Fine. Stare at a giant stretch of a blank wall," Pansy scorned, walking away in a huff.  
Pansy Parkinson annoyed him a _lot_. He wondered why she was his girlfriend. _Oh right, she was a popular, pure blooded Slytherin._

He returned to begging the Room of Requirements to reveal its door.  
Closing his eyes, he began pacing up and down the corridor.  
When the grey eyes opened, the giant stretch of a blank wall had transformed into a silver doorway with intricate carvings. Draco Malfoy entered.

Hermione Granger tried to remember the last time she was this happy. Ron was describing how badly Lavender Brown took it when he dumped her, but was relieved to be rid of her, nevertheless. Her life was… full of sanity again. The last few weeks had been tumultuous!

Firstly her crushing disappointment when she saw Ron kiss Lavender. Then her… _encounter_ with Malfoy. She was so relieved she began calling him 'Malfoy' in her head again! Then, discovering Voldemort made _Horcruxes_ and that too seven! The thought made her shudder. Also, Ron's poisoning, then Slughorn's Christmas party where she had to take that daft twit McLaggen… It was all over now. 'Malfoy' did not even notice her when she passed in the hallway, and Ron was not with Lavender anymore.

It was all so strange before: she nearly kissed Draco, she thought he was different now, then she was scared witless when she saw that Dark Mark. And when she got back to the dorm, she was forced to remember all the things about Ron seeing Lavender sleep with a giddy smile on her face. A very confusing experience… hating Ron so vehemently for grabbing Lavender in the middle of a crowded hallway to kiss her. Then watching '_Draco'_walk by and being so afraid, yet wanting him somehow, remembering the touch of his hand on hers, of his arm around her waist.

A few days later, when Harry began talking about '_Malfoy' _surely being a Death Eater, Ron started telling him to concentrate more on getting the memory from Slughorn, and expected Hermione to second his argument on this topic. Instead, she blurted, "I saw his Dark Mark!" Upon their curious looks, she improvised. "He was alone in a hallway with Crabbe and Goyle. They seemed to be having some argument, then Drac— Malfoy got really mad and showed it to them and shouted something about his 'authority' or whatever. I was so shocked that I yelled, but I ran before they saw me."

And to her relief, they believed her.

"Harry, you didn't have to say anything to break up with Cho last year, you know, you both just broke apart. You have no idea how horrible it was," Ron was saying. "But I'm really happy now," Ron added, his eyes twinkling at her.

Yes, Hermione Granger was extremely happy.

**Author's Note:_ Hate me for the Romione touch, don't you? Wondering when Draco and Hermione will get together? And how?_  
**_**All in good time, my love, all in good time. In the meantime, review! And also if you think this chapter is too short. I know I did.**_

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_Special thanks to littlegirlgonemad, and Arvind Pillai for some excellent, excellent advice. You've helped much more than you know. :)_


	3. Chapter 2: The Laughing and the Lonely

_**Aren't I adorable? Updating within one day? Well, feast your eyes, people!**_

**Chapter 2: The Laughing and the Lonely**

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"Ron, it's not supposed to land there!" Hermione laughed as Ron's pillow nearly went out the window.  
"Observe," she told him. Her cushion flew across the room and landed perfectly into the box where it had to go.  
"Well done, Ms Granger," Professor Flitwick remarked. It was Charms class and they were practicing the Banishing Charm, which was the opposite of the Summoning Charm and thrice as difficult.

Harry resumed what he was saying before Hermione's remark cut across his. "I have an idea, though. I'm planning on— oh, _Muffliato_," Harry muttered, pointing his wand at Seamus surreptitiously, who was beginning to show interest in their conversation. "On commanding Kreacher to spy on Malfoy. It's killing me not to know where he's disappearing off to," he finished, surprised as his pillow landed neatly on top of Hermione's. Flitwick beamed at him.

Hermione's cheeks went red for some unknown reason at the mention of Draco. Alright, she knew the reason: she still thought of that encounter in the dungeons. Nevertheless, Hermione was sure she liked Ron, maybe even loved him, and was bound to get together with him _any_ day now. She just felt _uncomfortable_ discussing Malfoy.

"Harry… I'm not really sure it's our business…" Hermione began but trailed off on her own, realizing what a stupid thing she just uttered.

"Our business? One of the students of this school is a Death Eater who disappears off the school's map regularly, that's not our business?" Harry stared at her incredulously.

"All right, fine… So we get Kreacher—but, just remember, he isn't a _slave_, Harry," she frowned.

Ron and Harry exchanged looks and were laughing in a second. Annoyed at their reaction she rolled her eyes, but pretty soon Hermione Jean Granger had to join in the laughter.

)O()O()O(

His world was crashing and he knew it.

Draco Malfoy was scared, much more than he had ever been in his life. The Dark Lord was merciless. He would torture him in ways he couldn't imagine. He would torture his mother and father worse. He couldn't help it, though. Every time Dumbledore strolled pass him in the Great Hall, his will to kill the old man weakened. Those twats Goyle and Crabbe were becoming increasingly unhelpful. Severus Snape knew he was breaking down and was ready to take full advantage. He was waiting to steal Draco's chance to save his family for the glory of achieving the feat of assassinating Albus Dumbledore.

Draco just knew one thing: _I never want to kill anyone._

He wished he could be like Bellatrix, fearless, devoted to her Master, and capable of treating everyone like scum. For years he'd been brilliant at the latter. But he was crumpling now… Slowly, steadily, he crumpled.

Because Bellatrix Lestrange never had to wonder what was right and what was wrong.

Bellatrix Lestrange never had a conscience.

Bellatrix Lestrange never felt guilty when she hurt people beyond repair.

Bellatrix Lestrange never was less than joyous after she'd killed a person. Bellatrix would instead snort at their dead bodies.

Often he came across Harry and Ron. They were not exactly happy, but they were at peace. He felt a little envious when he saw them. Not remotely was this because they spent so much time with Hermione Granger. There was more than a single reason.

Because they had support.

They had people with whom they could share their fears.

They had the freedom to fight.

They had the courage to risk everything to go against odds not remotely in their favour.

They had the opportunity to do the right thing without risking their loved ones' lives. And Draco? _Alone_.

When he saw Hermione, he barely acknowledged her. But on the inside he felt grateful to her. She had comforted him in his darkest hour of need. He had come to realise that Granger was more than just a frizzy-haired Mudblood: she was gentle, observant, kind and _extremely_ intelligent. She was _Hermione_. This epiphany did not mean that he was in love with her as he'd earlier misconstrued. It just meant that he could now _respect_ her. It was a change, but very trivial compared to all the other changes.

Draco would like to love her if he _could_. But the look in her eyes when she saw his Mark was enough to remind him who he was. As the days passed, he had resolved he would keep his distance from her. He was doing well, as she had stopped crossing his mind completely.

Draco remembered how his father would drone on and on about Lord Voldemort's conquests dreamily by the fireplace when he was little, and Draco would wish that one day the Dark Lord would return so that he could serve him.

Now he was confused. He didn't know what he wanted. But it didn't _matter_ what he wanted anyway. There was no other way than Voldemort's.

He was never given an option.

He did not have a choice.

He never did.

His parents had practically raised him to become a Death Eater.

Albus Dumbledore had to die for his family to live. Draco had resumed working on an abandoned plan. It was the only way.

But the lonely Draco Malfoy's will persisted to crumble.

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**Author's Little Note:**

_**My heart goes out to Draco in this one. :'(**_

_**Wondering what happens next? Well, SPOILER ALERT: The next chapter will be incredibly short, but particularly important. And I **_**have**_** finished writing it, but I'm just looking for a thumbs-up from you people (you know what I mean, don't you?) before I upload the little piece. Curious yet? *villainous grin*  
**_


	4. Chapter 3: Safe

**Chapter 3: Safe**

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He coughed as the dust from all the old objects stirred in the air. He shouldn't have opened the Cabinet door so forcefully; the dust from the pile of books knocked over nearby was creating a dirty brown haze. With a flick of his wand, he made the air clear again. _Much better._

_This should have worked, it must have worked, it had to have worked… _He prayed silently, his body tense.

He was overwhelmed. Relieved. Almost laughing! It was a spectacular reaction for the plain sight of a half-eaten apple… Had there been any onlookers, they would have been completely bemused.

But Draco Malfoy had a smile on his pale, drained face. For the first time in a long time, he felt safe. He could now breathe freely.

His smile was wiped off his face as he realised he had to choreograph Albus Dumbledore's demise.

But at least he was _safe_.

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**Author's Note:_ Opinions, criticism, advice, compliments, disapproval, etc. are all welcome as always. :)_**

**_Oh, and Drapple, Drapple, Drapple! 3  
(I don't think of this ship as a real thing, but it's amazing for a few laughs, and the opportunity was too tempting to pass up!)_**


	5. Chapter 4: Farewell

_**Guys, a lot of this chapter has been taken directly from the book, so I wanted to mention that I don't own the rights for this stuff, everything belongs to JK Rowling, etc. I'm just picking extracts from her work and adding Hermione's and Draco's thoughts to it.**_

**Chapter 4: Farewell**

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Hermione sat next to Ron in the hospital wing. _Poor Bill_, she thought. Tonks kept stealing glances at Lupin. Luna kept looking around the air and swatting it. Hermione was going to ask what she was doing, but she realised she already knew. _Nargles_.

_Where is Harry? What happened? Did they get the Horcrux? _A million questions were forming and dissolving in Hermione's head.

The doors opened: it was Harry and Ginny. _Oh, thank God!_ Hermione thought as she ran across the room to hug him.

"Are you fine, Harry?" Lupin asked.

"I'm fine… How's Bill?" Harry inquired.

Hermione didn't have the heart to answer. She merely gestured at the bed on which Bill lay with his wounds.

"Don't you have something to heal them?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.

"I've tried everything. Nothing works! He'll be stuck with these scars forever."

"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron said. "Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state -"

"Ron — Dumbledore's dead," said Ginny.

_What? Dumbledore can't be—_

"No!" Lupin looked wildly from Harry to Ginny, hoping one of them would deny it. Hermione hoped they would too, but the rational part of her knew it was true. This was too cruel to joke about.

Hermione was dumbstruck. She stood where she was, for once at a loss of words. She wanted to know how it happened, who did it, but she couldn't seem to move any muscle.

"How did he die?" whispered Tonks. "How did it happen?" Hermione wanted to give her a thankful glance, but she was still frozen.

"I was there, I saw it," began Harry. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was… Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —"

This jolted Hermione back. She clasped her hands to her mouth. No. No, he'd changed! He couldn't have killed Dumbledore, he was too soft, he wasn't who everyone thought he was….

"— more Death Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The _Avada Kedavra_." Harry couldn't go on.

Professor McGonagall entered the ward. Like all the rest, she bore marks of the recent battle: There were grazes on her face and her robes were ripped.

"Molly and Arthur are on their way," she said. "Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he — when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some —"

"Snape killed Dumbledore," said Harry.

She stared at him for a moment, then swayed alarmingly; Madam Pomfrey ran forward, conjuring a chair from thin air, which she pushed under McGonagall.

"This is all my fault," said Professor McGonagall suddenly. She looked disoriented, twisting her wet handkerchief in her hands. "My fault. I sent Filius to fetch Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us! If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters. I don't think he knew they were there before Filius told him, I don't think he knew they were coming."

"It isn't your fault, Minerva," said Lupin firmly. "We all wanted more help, we were glad to think Snape was on his way…"

"So when he arrived at the fight, he joined in on the Death Eaters' side?" asked Harry.

"I don't know exactly how it happened," said Professor McGonagall distractedly. "It's all so confusing… Dumbledore had told us that he would be leaving the school for a few hours and that we were to patrol the corridors just in case… Remus, Bill, and Nymphadora were to join us… and so we patrolled. All seemed quiet. Every secret passageway out of the school was covered. We knew nobody could fly in. There were powerful enchantments on every entrance into the castle. I still don't know how the Death Eaters can possibly have entered…"

"I do," said Harry, and he explained, briefly, about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed. "So they got in through the Room of Requirement."

"Oh God. Oh God. No," Hermione whispered to herself shaking her head.

"I messed up, Harry," said Ron bleakly. "We did like you told us: We checked the Marauder's Map and we couldn't see Malfoy on it, so we thought he must be in the Room of Requirement, so me, Ginny, and Neville went to keep watch on it… but Malfoy got past us."

"He came out of the room about an hour after we started keeping watch," said Ginny. "He was on his own, clutching that awful shriveled arm —"

"His Hand of Glory," said Ron. "Gives light only to the holder, remember?"

"Anyway," Ginny went on, "he must have been checking whether the coast was clear to let the Death Eaters out, because the moment he saw us he threw something into the air and it all went pitch-black —"

"— Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," said Ron bitterly. "Fred and George's. I'm going to be having a word with them about who they let buy their products."

"We tried everything, Lumos, Incendio," said Ginny. "Nothing would penetrate the darkness; all we could do was grope our way out of the corridor again, and meanwhile we could hear people rushing past us. Obviously Malfoy could see because of that hand thing and was guiding them, but we didn't dare use any curses or anything in case we hit each other, and by the time we'd reached a corridor that was light, they'd gone."

This was news to Hermione. _Dumbledore's gone_; she thought over and over.

"Luckily," said Lupin hoarsely, "Ron, Ginny, and Neville ran into us almost immediately and told us what had happened. We found the Death Eaters minutes later, heading in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. Malfoy obviously hadn't expected more people to be on the watch; he seemed to have exhausted his supply of Darkness Powder, at any rate. A fight broke out, they scattered and we gave chase. One of them, Gibbon, broke away and headed up the tower stairs -"

"To set off the Mark?" asked Harry.

"He must have done, yes, they must have arranged that before they left the Room of Requirement," said Lupin. "But I don't think Gibbon liked the idea of waiting up there alone for Dumbledore, because he came running back downstairs to rejoin the fight and was hit by a Killing Curse that just missed me."

"So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville," said Harry, turning to Hermione, "were you —?"

"Outside Snape's office, yes," whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, "with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened… We didn't know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map — It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I don't think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape's office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and — and —" _Oh no, it's all my fault!_

"What?" Harry urged her.

"I was so stupid, Harry!" said Hermione in a high-pitched whisper. "He said Professor Flitwick had collapsed and that we should go and take care of him while he — while he went to help fight the Death Eaters —" She covered her face in shame and continued to talk into her fingers, so that her voice was muffled. "We went into his office to see if we could help Professor Flitwick and found him unconscious on the floor… and oh, it's so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied Flitwick, but we didn't realize, Harry, we didn't realize, we just let Snape go!"

"It's not your fault," said Lupin firmly. "Hermione, had you not obeyed Snape and got out of the way, he probably would have killed you and Luna."

"So then he came upstairs," said Harry, who was watching Snape running up the marble staircase in his mind's eye, his black robes billowing behind him as ever, pulling his wand from under his cloak as he ascended, "and he found the place where you were all fighting…"

"We were in trouble, we were losing," said Tonks in a low voice. "Gibbon was down, but the rest of the Death Eaters seemed ready to fight to the death. Neville had been hurt, Bill had been savaged by Greyback… It was all dark… curses flying everywhere… The Malfoy boy had vanished, he must have slipped past, up the stairs… then more of them ran after him, but one of them blocked the stair behind them with some kind of curse… Neville ran at it and got thrown up into the air —"

"None of us could break through," said Ron, "and that massive Death Eater was still firing off jinxes all over the place, they were bouncing off the walls and barely missing us…"

"And then Snape was there," said Tonks, "and then he wasn't —"

"I saw him running toward us, but that huge Death Eater's jinx just missed me right afterward and I ducked and lost track of things," said Ginny.

"I saw him run straight through the cursed barrier as though it wasn't there," said Lupin. "I tried to follow him, but was thrown back just like Neville…"

"He must have known a spell we didn't," whispered McGonagall. "After all — he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher… I just assumed that he was in a hurry to chase after the Death Eaters who'd escaped up to the tower…"

"He was," said Harry savagely, "but to help them, not to stop them… and I'll bet you had to have a Dark Mark to get through that barrier — so what happened when he came back down?"

"Well, the big Death Eater had just fired off a hex that caused half the ceiling to fall in, and also broke the curse blocking the stairs," said Lupin. "We all ran forward — those of us who were still standing anyway — and then Snape and the boy emerged out of the dust — obviously, none of us attacked them —"

"We just let them pass," said Tonks in a hollow voice. "We thought they were being chased by the Death Eaters — and next thing, the other Death Eaters and Greyback were back and we were fighting again — I thought I heard Snape shout something, but I don't know what —"

"He shouted, 'It's over,'" said Harry. "He'd done what he'd meant to do."

Hermione felt so horrible. She'd been so stupid. She could've stopped Snape with one simple Stunning Charm. She _knew_ that Draco wouldn't kill Dumbledore. If she'd hexed Snape then the fight would've continued, Draco would give in to Dumbledore to come over to the good side, and Dumbledore would've managed all the Death Eaters with a flick of his wand. _If only she hadn't been so stupid…_

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**Author's Note:**

_**This chapter needed a lot of Draco's point of view, but as I re-read that part in Half-Blood prince, I realized that his feelings had already been described extensively. So I figured this was the way to go.**_

_**Next chapter **_**may _take some time, because my summer vacation's now over. :(_**

**_Thanks for all the support, you guys. Means a lot!_**


	6. Chapter 5: The Clouds Part

**Chapter 5: The Clouds Part**

Draco Malfoy thought he had experienced the worst that could ever happen. That he'd experienced the epitome of fear. And that nothing could be worse than all that he'd endured the previous year.

He'd lived in fear for his life.

He'd be reduced to tears when he remembered his family would die if he didn't succeed.

He'd nearly killed a person.

_Finally it was over, wasn't it?_

Draco Malfoy was _very_ wrong. It had just begun.

It turns out that things are always worse when the Dark Lord decides to reside in your home. In this case, the Malfoy Manor.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

Ron hugged her, let her tears fall on the bare skin of his arms revealed by his half-sleeved Muggle t-shirt. The full entity of the task that Dumbledore had left them had just hit Hermione. It hit her so hard that all the wind was sucked from her lungs and she couldn't breathe enough. It hit her so hard that she broke down.

"We'll be there—_I'll_ be there, Hermione. All through the way."

"Wh-when's Harry coming here? Did Hedwig come with any l-letter?" she asked, ashamed of her tears, as always. They were the reason she chose to ignore Ron's soothing words and pretend her thoughts were still coherent.

"Hermione, Harry isn't coming. _We're_ going to fetch _him_. Didn't you hear the plan?"

She groaned mentally. "Oh right, of course." _So much for sounding coherent._

Ron smiled, his feelings for her clearly shining in his eyes. Somehow she couldn't quite meet his blazing stare. She dropped her gaze to his mouth instead.

Ron misinterpreted this. He _leaned in._

_Oh no! _ Hermione craned her neck up at the ceiling quickly, and her eyes filled with fresh tears. She decided to pretend that she'd noticed nothing. "I'm scared about the fact that Harry doesn't even know where most of the- _all_ of the Horcruxes are. What will we do? How can we possibly—" she choked on the last few words, burying her head in Ron's neck.

So Ron simply held her tight as she tugged on his Muggle t-shirt, soaking it.

**Author's note:**

**I'm extremely sorry for updating so late! God, why does school have to be so time-consuming?**

**Alright, back to the story. Besides taking the story forward, this chapter was basically written to show that Ron is most certainly not a git, like most Dramione stories seem to. **

**I don't know why it's called The Clouds Part. Probably because after the chaos post Dumbledore's death everything goes back to normal. Well, as normal as it gets with the darkest wizard of all time crashing at your place.**

**Hermione's conflict continues, and now with the added pressure of saving the wizarding (and Muggle) world. I kind of feel sorry for all three of them now. **

**You feel like telling me what you thought of it? Then you know what to do! (Hint: there's a space for writing stuff below this. I've made it blindingly obvious now.)**

**And- this probably sounds conceited, but- I'd love for you all to read the one-shot I recently wrote. (It's the first time I've written a Romione, and was much harder than I'd expected! Give it a read, pretty please?)**


	7. Chapter 6: Home

**Chapter 6: Home**

It had started. The war. _Sooner than expected, really._

Hermione clutched her beaded bag as she ran toward Harry and Ron. Wizards and witches all around were screaming, Disapparating. Hermione gave a tearful glance to Fleur. The wedding was in shambles and everything Fleur had wanted was shattered right before her.

Panic filled the air and Hermione knew that only she could make the decision of where to go: Ron and Harry's faces showed how clearly distraught they were. Grasping their hands in one of hers, she realised she had precisely one second to decide where to Disapparate to, or they'd all get Splinched. In that one second, Hermione Granger had a flashback.

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

_Stop crying, stop it._

Hermione wondered how little it took to make her cry since the past month. She curled up into a ball in her bed, shivering. Looking around the room she grew up in, she wondered whether she'd live to see it again. Whether she'd see _them_ again.

She steadied herself, wiped her tears and tied her hair into a loose ponytail as her eyes searched for her wand. Spotting it at the foot of the bed, she got up and did what she had to do.

Mrs. Granger heard her daughter come down the stairs and smiled in worry.

"Do you feel better now?"

Hermione didn't reply. Instead, she saw her mother's eyes widen in shock as Hermione held her at a distance, her wand held up threateningly.

Hearing the commotion, Dr. Granger ran from his study to the living room. He nearly had a stroke at the sight of his wife collapsed by the kitchen floor. Hermione stood next to her, crying hysterically.

"Hermione, what—how did this happen? What's—wait. Why do you have your wand like that— oh _no_. Hermione, _did you attack your mother_?"

"N-no. Not really."

"What is that supposed to —"

"_Obliviate_."

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

Hermione wanted to cry again when she saw where they were. _I'm stronger than that_, she told herself. "Tottenham Court Road." _The street where I grew up_, she added in her head.

_**Notes from the Author:**_

**I really wanted to add the whole parents' facet to the story, that must've been hard on Hermione and everyone seems to leave it largely disregarded. Tell me what you thought of it! (Draco'll be back next chapter, don't fret.)**


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